Chapter 13: -Kokono Village
The crowds moved past in a quick yet organized fashion of carts and people trying to get where they needed to go. Horses roared past, men with spears and swords talked game about their latest hunt. Street vendors desperately tried to reach out to the moving crowd and draw them in close.
And among all these people, and the crowds that roared, moved a hooded figure that seemed more out of place than gold in a poor man's home.
Smaller than the rest, she easily moved past all the cart's and people, never attracting more than a common glance.
This girl was Lia. And like Cain said, she had followed his teachings and advice to the bone.
She wore a hooded cloak and leather clothes with bindings that easily made her seem like an avid Hunter. A person who ventures out to hunt monsters.
Kokono village was a middle to large town and city that easily could be said to house over dozens and dozens of guilds with hundreds of hunters. A perfect place to blend in and an even more perfect place to train.
As of now, Lia had already been briefed on what she could expect when dealing with the city.
'Say away from the alleys, the darkness still lays. Stay close to the street where the children play. But don't wander far, and never forget to change your lock.'
Much to Lia's dismay however, the only form of teaching Cain had given her in preparation for the city, was a childs nursery rhyme.
Through the constant repeats of the rhyme, she had memorized every rule and unspoken law of the city. Though she hated every moment of it.
'It doesn't matter. You can hate it all, but it will keep you alive.'
Spoke Cain whose voice rang out through her head.
Apparently that was nother thing Lia had been unaware of until after she had signed the contract. Not only could Cain hear her thoughts, though only a select few that were direct, but he could also speak to her while he was in the Eternal Realm, which was where he was now.
'Find the Guild I told you about, and keep moving. Don't listen to anyone, pay attention to anything, or so forth.'
'I know that, but it's a little bit difficult.'
'Don't care.'
Lia sighed, knowing full well that this was the personality she was going to have to deal with from now on.
Back when she had signed the contract, Cain had explained to her the events that had taken place with the Samurai and the ogre, as well as the Phantoms.
To be honest, Lia was more than shocked at the fact that Cain was a summoner, even almost passing out when she did hear it.
According to Cain, he was a rare breed of summons called Kings. A King summons was a class that's so rare, Cain had believed for a long time that he was the only one. And even now, he had doubts that there were any others out there in the world.
The King summons was a summons who had existed, according to Cain, since the creation of the Eternal Realm itself. Meaning that Cain was one or could very possibly be the oldest living summons in the Eternal Realm.
Like the Ancestral Realm, the Eternal Realm had a hierarchy that kept everything in line. And at the peak of that hierarchy laid Cain, the King summons. And with that title, meant that he ruled over all the other summoned creatures, who bowed in view of their king.
Whether Cain liked it or not, he didn't really get a choice of how they treated him, but it worked in his favor.
Now, he had the power to summon any summons from his world, but at a price. When he summoned a creature, it would act as her creature, another summons besides Cain. However, it wouldn't draw mana from Lia, but instead from Cain.
But Lia wasn't worried. With the way she saw Cain deal with that monster from before, he could have easily hid other cards up his sleeve.
So, while Lia was more than confused, in disbelief, and in some ways crazy, she still went along with what he had to say.
Afterall, she wasn't about to question a man who could just as easily kill her, as he could find another person to contract with.
'There.'
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Cain's voice.
Lia stopped and looked around through the mass and sea of people rushing by. But no matter where she looked, all she could see were people and carts moving by.
'On your left.'
With Cain's directions, she was able to see a small building, nestled between two other buildings. The three were part of a larger wall of stores and buildings that stretched on and on down the street.
Lia pushed and shoved her way through the crowds, who ignored her and moved on their way, until she reached the building's front door.
'This place?'
She asked, inspecting the small double door and sign hanging over it.
'Rot Walkers. Yes this is the place.'
Cain confirmed her questions, and Lia quickly headed in.
Of course she was questioning why she had to move through such a difficult street just to get to this place, which in her eyes, didn't seem as impressive as she thought.
However, she was quickly proven wrong as she entered through the wooden door.
Inside, she was reminded of a typical style tavern, and a typical style guild. However, instantly she was surprised by the small number of people there.
For a guild, even if it was small, a good number of people would be here trying to get some action.
Mostly newbies, or groups on their second or third monster run would be looking for notices and bounties to increase their fame. Yet here, she could barely see anyone.
Twenty five. That's how many she could count.
Even at twenty five, she found it too strange that there were so few people here.
'Cain, what is this?'
Now she had doubts as to why Cain brought her here. He had explained that she would undergo training to increase her strength and make her familiar with his power, but this was far from what she had expected.
'Just don't ask. Go to the counter and ask for the menu.'
However, Cain completely ignored her question, and kept her focus on what lay ahead.
Lia was frustrated with him, but like him, she ignored his obvious trant and kept her mind focused.
There were far more important matters that needed to be completed, rather than arguing with Cain over something trivial.
As she grew closer to the front desk, she could feel the eyes of multiple people on her back, questioning why she was there.
The receptionist at the front desk glanced at Lia, before coming to greet her, holding a stack of papers in her hands.
"How can I help you today?"
"I'm looking for a menu."
The receptionist seemed surprised at first, before she quickly bowed her head and headed off to grab a menu.
At the same time, all eyes that had once been on her back, disappeared as they quickly looked a different way, keeping their minds to themselves.
As the receptionist returned, a large leather folder in her hand, Lia couldn't help but question Cain once again, finding his reasoning for them being there strange.
'Cain, just what is this place?'
What she felt next she had no proof of it ever happening, but she could feel it, like a chill down her spine.
A smirk was plastered all over Cain's face, and Lia hated that feeling.
But what he said next froze her in her place.
'A black market.'
'A black market?!'
Lia had heard of black markets before, in fact, so many people had, it'd be rare if someone didn't know what they were.
But even then, she still couldn't understand why Cain had brought her here. A place that was always shrouded in mystery and deceit.
'Of all the places, why did you bring me here?'
'This place isn't what you think. This place is hidden in the black market for a reason.'
Lia thanked the receptionist and quickly moved to a secluded spot of the tavern, where most of the people's eyes were blocked by a wall.
'What do you mean?'
'This place is where most high ranking people and hunters go to hunt. Especially with the increase in guilds, more and more people are taking advantage of the high ranking targets, leaving none of the rest.'
'But I thought you said bounties have to have a ranking cap.'
Ranking caps were a law Cain had explained to her long before she entered the city.
A ranking cap was essentially a cap on a hunter's strength. If the monster was two high in strength or power, they would require summoners with a ranking to take on the bounty.
'I did, but with so many guilds trying to make a name for themselves, they'll allow anyone to take on a high ranking bounty so long as they have a summoner or summons in their group. This often leads to any stronger groups without a summoner to get left in the dust. So people established a way for them to earn money from bounties, without the need for summons or summoners.'
Lia quickly looked around, and now with her attunement as a summoner, she could easily see that no one else there was a summoner or had a summons with them.
This was great on one hand, as it meant she was worried for nothing, a simple backhanded way for hunters to get what they wanted. A favor to the unlucky.
But on the other hand, it raised concerns for her, as she was now a summoner like the very people they wanted to avoid when going on hunts.
Cain, being able to read her thoughts, obviously sensed this growing concern, and quelled it easily.
'But Cain, I'm a summoner. What if they don't - '
'It's fine. So long as you know the password, you'll be allowed to hunt. The password effectively keeps any unwanted figures out of the guild, while allowing those who know it to be welcomed in with open arms. Having the password means you've proven yourself to be some of the strongest out there, earning you the right to participate in high ranking hunts.'
'The password?'
Lia thought back to her conversation with the receptionist, and didn't see anything odd with what she asked. A tavern would obviously have a menu for it, but even then, she couldn't help but feel that they were somehow connected.
'You're right.'
Cain confirmed her suspicions.
'The name of the place is Rot Walkers. While it may look like a tavern, it's in fact a simple trading business. A business that trades monster parts and turns them into weapons. Asking for a menu means you would like to see the items they have for sale.'
'But what does that have to do with bounties.'
'There are two parts of the password. A menu to see the items and the monsters that they come from. Once you've chosen the monster you want to hunt, you go back to the receptionist and ask to see the information of this monster. The receptionist will give it to you, and you'll find the location hidden within the message. After that you come back in, do it all over again, and tell them you've come into possession of that very same monster.'
'That…That's quite the long process to go through.'
'It is, and it's a lot to follow. But even then, it's efficient. More so than any other black market trade deals.'
'What happens when I try to sell the monster I catch?'
'We'll cross that path when we get there. For now, look through the monster items, and pick one you think is best suited for you.'
Paging through the numerous items and artifacts that stood out for either being too flashy or just too difficult of monsters that she could fight, she discarded all of them.
For more than one reason Lia suspected that by 'a monster on her level' Cain had meant a weak monster she could easily defeat.
Of course this made sense to her, as she didn't know what levels of strength she could use, and for that matter, what summons would best suit these monsters.
But Lia couldn't help but be amazed by the numerous monsters that seemed to plague these lands and the city.
Drakes, Basilisks, Serpents, Goblins, Satyrs, and various forms of the undead. The numbers were endless.
Cain was right, this was a monster's paradise.
'Don't fight anything that you can't handle.'
Unaware of her thoughts, Cain advised Lia against picking any strong monsters to go after.
'A group of undead, fairies, or pixies would do you well.'
'Pixies?'
Lia wasn't about to go and hunt pixies. If this was the black market, and she had to pretend to be someone strong and powerful, that person wouldn't fit well with someone who hunted pixies for a living.
Reading her thoughts, Cain's voice grew wary and stern as he warned her from doing anything rash.
'Lia, don't. You can't handle anything else-'
'Done.'
Lia stood up and headed to the front counter where the lady from before greeted her with a smile and took her menu.
Knowing what Cain would tell her, Lia had quickly skimmed through the next few pages of the menu, looking out for anything that could be a sort of middle class monster.
Something not too strong, but not too weak.
An 'average' monster.
"What can I get for you now that you've seen the menu?"
The receptionist lady asked, a calm smile on her face.
Lia knew however, that the lady was secretly judging her, so she calmly spoke, her words filled with confidence.
"The arachnids web."
The receptionist flinched, clearly not expecting Lia to have an answer, and so confidently at that.
However, she quickly regained her composure and moved to grab a few sheets of paper, before facing Lia again.
"Understood. 'The arachnid web' is a C class item from a C class beast. Would you like to purchase this item?"
The receptionist kept her usual smile, but Lia could tell that she was hoping Lia would say yes and move on.
Instead, however, she secretly smiled and shot her down.
"No thank you. I would however like to know more about this item, before I think about its purchase."
Once again, the receptionist's lips twitched, and her smile threatened to turn into a frown.
'For a moment there I forgot you were a princess.'
Said Cain, who spoke with some hint of surprise in his voice.
It was true that Lia may not have been the most favored princess, but she was still taught many things in life.
Especially when it came to how she acted. Her family wouldn't have liked it if she embarrassed them even further.
"Understood miss. The beast Silver Tail Spider can be found within deep caverns and caves, like in mines."
As the receptionist spoke, Lia thought through the powers she had seen Cain use before.
'Does he have any powers that work underground?'
"The beast can be sold for three gold per spider."
The receptionist passed Lia a sheet detailing the information that included where the Silver Tail Spider could be found.
Pleased with this information, Lia thanked the receptionist and moved to the door to leave, her head bowed to avoid attention.
However, she only got a few steps, before she found six boots standing in her way.
Their tips were smeared with mud, and some dark substance she could only hope was not blood.
As Lia looked up slowly, her actions betraying her wryness, she could hear Cain speaking in her head.
He took the words right out of her mouth.
'Oh shit.'
Weekly Power Status
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